Oscar Grant Sentence: 5 Things We Learned

The Five Lessons Learned From The Oscar Grant Case

San Francisco (TheGrio)– Last Friday, transit officer Johannes Mehserle, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in July for the killing of Oscar Grant, was sentenced to two years in prison — the minimum sentence, which is expected to carry little more that a few more weeks of incarceration, with time served.

The sentence has opened old wounds, causing many to question the extent to which the justice system values the lives of African-American males, or whether it is predisposed to validate the perception that black men’s lives are disposable.

As the family continues to pursue its options with the Department of Justice, our broader community should recognize this moment as a critical opportunity to reflect on the top five lessons we can learn from the Oscar Grant case.